Boston or New York — Who’s Smarter?

Sure, Boston is home to Harvard, MIT, and Northeastern, but the following statistic may be the most solid proof yet that Boston is home to the smartest people in the world.

Collectively, the good folks in Boston purchased 213 copies of Math Jokes 4 Mathy Folks during the past year. There are 5 million people in the Boston metro area, which means that less than 2% of the U.S. population is responsible for 11% of my book sales. (Thanks, Bean Town!)

But the math geeks in New York are giving them a run for their money. They bought 182 copies of my book in the last 12 months. Since there really isn’t a Yankees-Red Sox race to follow this year, perhaps the media will be watching to see if New York can earn the title of “smartest city on the planet” by overtaking Boston in sales of MJ4MF.

Okay, maybe not, but that sure is a nice segue to this classic joke with a twist…

A chemist, a physicist, and a mathematician were riding the train through Massachusetts in early autumn, enjoying the changing colors.

As they approached Boston, the chemist saw Fenway park and said, “Look! The baseball players in Boston wear red uniforms.”

“No, no,” replied the physicist. “All that we can conclude from the data is that some of the baseball players in Boston wear red uniforms.”

“Uh, not quite,” said the mathematician. “The correct conclusion is only that baseball players in Boston wear uniforms that are red on at least one side.”

“Actually,” said a man sitting behind them, “I don’t even think you can conclude that much. It’s October — so I don’t think you’re seeing any baseball players in Fenway Park right now.”

And lest all ye Red Sox fans get upset by that, here’s one to poke fun at the other side…

A first grade teacher explains to her class that she’s a Yankees fan. She asks her students to raise their hands if they are Yankees fans, too. Not really knowing what a Yankees fan is, but wanting to be like their teacher, almost all students raise their hands. However, Mary has her hands in her lap.

The teacher asks her why she has to be different. “Because I’m not a Yankees fan,” Mary explains.

“Then, what are you?” asks the teacher.

“Why, I’m a Boston Red Sox fan!” says Mary proudly.

The teacher is a little perturbed. She asks Mary why she is a Red Sox fan.

“Well, my dad is a Red Sox fan, and my mom is a Red Sox fan, so I’m a Red Sox fan, too!”

“That’s no reason!” says the teacher angrily. “If your mom were a moron and your dad were a moron, would you be a moron, too?”

“No, ma’am,” says Mary. “I’d be a Yankees fan!”